Mystery Of The Soulriders
by KnifeInTheCrayonBox
Summary: Meet Lisa, a teenage girl who has just moved to the remote island of Jorvik. In this strange, new environment Lisa becomes wrapped up in an ancient mystery involving a very special horse. Together they will embark on great adventure to defeat evil.
1. First Day At Jorvik

"_There are times in life when something happens and you have to make a choice, and this choice will change your path in life forever. You create your own destiny, but sometimes, just sometimes…destiny chooses you."_

* * *

_I wish I were dead! This is the worst day of my life!_

These were just a few of many thoughts that bounced around in my head as I looked around the now empty apartment room I had grown up in. I sat down on a box with all my belonging packed inside. This is my last hour in this place. After this we're moving away from the city, away from all my friends. Just because dad has to work in a new place, why does he have to destroy my life? Mom would never have let this happen.

My eyes watered up at the mere thought of her.

"Lisa! We should get going!" my dad yelled from downstairs. I ignored him, and after a few minutes he came upstairs to see why I didn't answer.

"Lisa, it's getting dark. We won't make it to Jorvik if we don't get a move on."

"That wouldn't be such a bad thing. It's stupid to leave this place for a remote farm a hundred miles from everything," I grumbled. My dad sighed as he bent down to my level and put an arm around my shoulder.

"I know this is hard on you, but I have to take this job with Dark Core. It could be a new start for us." My dad's eyes landed on a picture of my mom that was sitting on a nearby box.

"Besides, it's hard for me to stay, everything reminds me of your mother," dad added in an almost whisper. I started to cry.

"I'm sorry, dad, I just miss mom so much," I cried. Dad wrapped his arms around me in comfort.

"Believe me, so do I," he said.

* * *

The lines in the road threatened to lull me to sleep as we drove along a long stretch of road in Jorvik. After a two hour plane ride out to the remote island we had reached a small, empty airport. We got all our boxes, and got in the empty moving truck that was already waiting for us.

I looked out the window at all the trees and bushed that passed by in a blur on either side of the road. According to dad, we were almost at our new home. I must have had a miserable expression on my face because dad said,

"Cheer up, Lisa. I'm sure you'll find new friends in Jorvik, and they also have fine horses. You enjoyed riding once, didn't you?"

"That's when I got hurt, remember? You were away at a business conference," I could remember that day like it was yesterday. I was nine at the time, and mom was trying teaching me how to ride.

* * *

_Mom bent down to my level and grabbed my hand. She gently placed it on the horses muzzle._

"_You see, Lisa? Horses are kind and gentle," she said with a smile. I patted the horse on the nose before mom lifted me up on the saddle. She handed me the reins and the horse started to walk away. The gentle swaying of the horse beneath me was soothing, yet exciting at the same time._

"_I love this!" I exclaimed. I looked back at me mom. She was beaming._

"_You're doing great, honey!" she yelled as the horse walked further away._

_Suddenly I heard a hissing sound in front of the horse. I turned around and saw, to my horror, a rattle snake coiled up in the grass._

_The horse neighed in terror and reared up. I didn't have any time to grab anything to hold on to. I fell backwards, and landed on my shoulder._

* * *

I instinctively reached for my shoulder as I tried not to remember the pain.

"I remember I missed you more than ever," I whispered.

"Well, that's all going to change, Lisa. I'm not going to leave you again," he said comfortingly.

"No!" he yelled out of the blue. I was abruptly thrown forward as the car screeched to a halt. I looked up and saw that our car was inches away from a girl on her horse. She had a riding helmet on, with her golden blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her blue eyes were blazing with anger.

"Wow, that was close," my dad breathed as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, idiot, this is Jorvik, not the Indy 500!" She yelled as my dad rolled down his window.

"Listen, young lady, this is a road…for cars. You just flew out of the woods!" my dad explained. The girl snorted.

"Well, it's obvious you're not from here Mr…Lumberjack." The girl eyed my dad's striped, flannel shirt. "Concorde and I always take our night ride here," she said in a matter-of-fact way, then her eyes landed on me.

"I'm Anne, by the way. And I guess I'll be seeing hedgehog girl in school," she said with a nod in my direction. I narrowed my eyes at her. I assumed she was referring to my shoulder length auburn red hair. I happened to have it spiked today, so it was sticking out in every direction. She turned her horse back towards the trail that continued on the other side of the road.

"Watch your driving in the future, pops. Concorde, _Avante_!" At the sound of his name the horse trotted off into the woods.

Dad's foot pushed down on the accelerator and we were rushing past the woods once again. For a moment it was quiet.

"Hmm, interesting girl…not exactly humble," dad said with a slight chuckle. He sneaked a peak at me, only to see me staring ahead at the road, a look of anger on my face. "Don't worry, you'll make friends here, Lisa."

Suddenly we got to the crest of a hill we had been driving up. It revealed a vast stretch of ocean a few miles away.

"Look, here's Jorvik," my dad announced. He pointed at a couple platforms that looked like they floated above the water, with long tentacles connected to them that plunged into the water. "You can see the platforms out at sea, that's where I'm going to work." I rolled my eyes.

"They look like black spiders, dad," I groaned.

Within minutes we reached out new house, just as the sun dipped below the horizon.

* * *

My first day of school and I don't know anyone here, except that annoying Anne girl, I though miserably. I stood inside the doorway, just past the double doors that led inside. In front of me was a marble staircase that led into the school.

I walked up the stairs, and when I got to the top the school opened up, the ceiling formed a sort of ark above the school, with a skylight as a roof. In the middle of the main hall was a stone carving of a man, who I'd assume to be the founder of this school. On either side of the main hall there were doors. On the left between a pair of doors was a huge cabinet with dozens of trophies in it, and on the right, above a huge pair of double doors was a big clock. The time read 7:40. My first class started in twenty minutes...whatever that first class was. I had to check in at the main office, wherever that was, and get my schedule.

I glanced around and saw a few students were walking around, talking and laughing. I already felt like the odd man out.

Better get my schedule and get to class. Don't want to be late on my first day. I looked around saw a sigh that said in big, bold letters, Main Office, just above the door next to the trophy cabinet. As I walked towards the office, I passed the trophy cabinet and couldn't help but look inside. I saw that the school had a lot of trophies, especially for riding competitions.

"Well, hello there young lady!" a man voice said behind me. I nearly jumped a foot. He walked around and stood in front of me.

"I didn't mean to startle you. I just noticed you were looking at the old things in the case," he commented. He stared at me for a second, just looking me over, while I tried to make sense of his outfit. He was wearing a black suit, and a red bowtie, with black dress pants, and black dress shoes, but the weird part was the faded green trench coat over it. Strange.

"You look like a Taurus to me," he finally said. I was surprised.

"Taurus? Yes, I am. How'd you know?" I asked, a little creeped out.

"Tell me, do you like horses?" he asked, ignoring my question.

"I used to. Why? Who are you?" I asked, getting a little frantic. He smiled a creepy smile.

"You can call me Mr. Sand's…and I sense that you were once hurt by a horse, am I right?" he asked. I froze with fear. How did he know so much about me?

When I didn't respond he continued.

"Well, little redhead, I'm sure we will meet again…" he said before he walked around me, and out the front doors.

That guy gives me the creeps, I thought. I'd better stay away from him.

I tried to shake the eerie feeling I had and continued to the main office door next to the trophy case. I was about to go in when I noticed a bright yellow sticky note on the door.

_'Be right back!'_ it read. Suddenly a shadow appeared on the ground. I looked up and saw Anne standing in front of me.

"Hey!" she greeted me. "You're that girl whose dad almost ran me over last night. I hope he won't be a problem anymore," she looked me over, then wrinkled her nose.

"Just what kind of fashion statement is that? Maybe you think it's chic, but trust me, it's not. I'm Anne, but you already knew that. As a newcomer, knowing who's important, and who's not is critical," I looked over the clothes she was wearing. She was wearing a dark green cashmere sweater, with a pair of expensive looking skinny jeans, and to tie it all together a pair of brown suede boots.

"Hm, I guess that would make you important, right?" I asked sarcastically. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't be stupid, of course I'm important. Anyway, I think you need to find a hairstylist…what is that-punk or grunge or what?" I shrugged.

"It's just my hair."

I don't know what she was talking about. I didn't spike my hair today, this morning I even straightened it before I came to school. Anne glanced at the note on the door.

"Tell you what, sweetie. I can help you, but I need a small favor," she said. She eyes traveled over to a guy with long, light brown hair that went down to his shoulders.

"That guy over there by the pillar next to the library is Josh. He is very interested in me for obvious reasons, but hasn't worked up enough courage yet to ask me for my cell phone number. If you run over there and give him my number, I'll help you," she said with a sweet smile.

Amazing, one minute she insults me and the next minute she wants my help. I almost opened my mouth to tell her to get lost, when I realized that if I didn't accept her help I might be late for class, and I didn't feel like staying here after school for detention on my first day.

"Alright," I agreed. Anne pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to me. I took it from her and walked across the main hall, past another marble stairs case that split in the middle, then led to the second story.

I walked up to Josh, and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and smiled.

"Hey, you're that new girl, right? I saw you arriving in Jorvik the other night. I really like your hair, all the other girls here just look the same," I just smiled.

"Oh, thanks, well, I was supposed to give you this," I held out the paper Anne had given me.

"Oh, a phone number," he said with a smile, until he looked at the name below the number.

"Anne's? I thought it was yours…oh, never mind. Thanks," he said with a fake smile. I nodded and tuned around. When I walked up to Anne she smiled.

"Well done, rock girl. I hope your appearance didn't scare him off. So, you want to know where the janitor is? He's on the second floor just left off the stairs, talking to Sabine, the most stuck-up girl in school," I though that was Anne. "If I know her right, she'll stand there yappin' forever." Anne said.

I looked past Anne and saw the double staircase, divided by a 3 foot marble wall. The first set of stairs stopped halfway up, evened out, then curved and split off into opposite directions, leading the rest of the way up the second floor.

The top floor looked sort of like balcony. It was like a hall, only there were doors lined along the wall, but on the other side of the hall you could look down on the main hall.

I walked up the right pair of stairs and turned left when I got to the top. To the left there was a dead end, and in the corner was a man that looked like the janitor was talking to a girl dressed in fancy clothes, like Anne. The only difference was that she had short, jet black hair that was pulled back in a small ponytail. She looked like she was arguing with the janitor.

I was about to run over to them when I noticed that a strict looking woman was standing a few feet in front of them.

A girl with brown hair who was walking nearby noticed me staring at her.

"Better not let Mrs. Graham catch you walking around without books," she warned me.

"Why? Is she strict?" I asked.

"You can say that again, all the students here call her the Wicked Witch of Jorvik," she said before walking away. The janitor is standing right behind her, how am I gonna get past her?

After a moment of deliberation I decided a direct approach was best. Maybe I could just walk right past her and she wouldn't notice. I started to walk past her when I heard her say,

"Hold it right there, young lady! Where do you think you're going? There is no running around here unless you're going to class, and you don't have your books with you. Off you go, and don't make me tell you again," she scolded me.

"Do I really need books just to walk around the school?" I asked, trying to act innocent.

"Certainly!" she nearly yelled. "This is a civilized school, and if you're not going to class you can't just run around all over the place." I sighed as I walked back down the stairs, and back to Anne.

"What's with the long face? Wasn't the janitor where he was supposed to be?" she asked.

"Well, it proved a little more difficult than I thought…" I said. She got a knowing look on her face.

"Oh, let me guess, you can't get there because Mrs. Graham is stopping you all the time. You need books to get past her, you know."

"Yeah, I found that out."

"Well, I never carry my books myself, but I guess you'll have to…" she paused a minute. "Tell you what, go talk to Mr. Einstein over there. His name's Zach, and he has more books than the Jorvik Library," she pointed at a boy, across the main hall, with medium-length light brown hair, who was reading a textbook.

I walked over to him, and when I got close he looked up and smiled.

"Hi, you're the new girl, Lisa, right?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, and you're Zach?" I asked. He nodded. "Listen, Anne told me that you have a lot of books, could I borrow a couple to get past Mrs. Graham?" I asked.

"Sure, I have two or three copies of each textbook for every class, to make different notes in and so forth. I'd be happy to help you out-"

"Thanks," I said with a smile, cutting him off.

"But there's one problem. I can't get into my locker because I've lost my keys. The janitor will be absolutely furious if he finds out that the school keys are unaccounted for…Well, I guess Jeff could help us. He's right over there, between the stairs. He's more capable of breaking locks than any boy I've ever seen. When it comes to screws, metal or anything mechanical he does a better job than anyone else. Go over there and ask if he can help us out," Zach pointed to a boy with shaggy black hair standing at the top of the stairs, talking to a couple of other guys.

"By the way, if you like riding horses the Jorvik stables are close by, maybe you could come after school, and we could hang out," Zach added.

"Thanks, but I don't think so, I don't really ride horses anymore," I said.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." I nodded before turning around and walking up the stairs, straight to Jeff.

"So, how can I help you? I don't think you want to hang out with me and the boys. I saw you talking to princess Anne a little while ago. If you hang with us too much I don't think that supermodel wannabe will talk to you again," Jeff warned.

"Well, actually I could use some help cracking the combination to Zach's locker, and I hear you're the one to talk to," I explained. Jeff rolled his eyes.

"I hope you're not gonna start crying now, city girl, I really don't like the whole 'sob, sob, feel sorry for me because I'm such a cutie' routine," Jeff was quiet for a moment when he saw I wasn't crying.

"Let's make a deal, you show me that you've got some guts, unlike all the other girls around here, and I'll crack the locker. But you need to catch me first!" Jeff took off like a bullet up the stairs on the left.

I ran after him. Most people don't know this, but when I was little I joined a track team, even won a couple of medal's, so catching Jeff wouldn't be a problem. Jeff raced down the hall, but within a few second I was right on his heels. I jumped forward and wrapped my arms around his waist.

_I'm not letting him go until he promises to breaks the code,_ I thought stubbornly._ I've had enough running around today, I just want to get my schedule, get my books, and get to class. _Jeff stopped and smiled.

"I kind of like this," he said, looking at my hands wrapped around him. I blushed and let go.

"You're not as weak as you look! Follow me and I'll take you to Zach's locker," he said. He ran off down the hall, to where it curved, forming another wall, this one lined with rows of locker's. Jeff ran up to a locker with the number 61 and stopped. He put his ear on the door and twisted the combination around a few times.

"Let's see…It's open," Jeff announced. "And there are the books." he said handed me a few books. Suddenly something else fell out of the locker, something small, square and plastic. Jeff picked it up.

"Why is Sabine's cell phone in Zach's locker?" he wondered aloud.

"I'll take it and give it back to her. I saw her talking to the janitor."

"Alright." He picked it up and handed it to me. "Lisa, you're Ok. Well, I hope I'll see you around," he said with a big smile.

I smiled as he ran back to down the hall, turned the corner, and back to the stairs, to where his friends were. I saw that the stairs that split off in either direction were parallel, and eventually curved and joined together, forming the hallway filled with lockers. I raced down the row of lockers, turned left and ran down the hall. When I got near Mrs. Graham I slowed down. I walked past her, my arms full of books, and gave her the most polite smile I could muster.

She glanced at me, saw me books, and turned her attention back to watching for one of the other students to mess up. As soon as I got past her I let out a sigh of relief. Finally! I looked at the watch on my wrist. I still had 5 minutes until class started. As I got closer to the janitor and Sabine, I could hear what they were arguing about.

"As a school employee you ought to listen to me. You know how much my father has done for this school. The grand clock in this school had been restored thanks to his donations. It's very simple. I'm telling you that Zach boy is a thief. He's stolen my cell phone and I demand that you have a look in his locker!" Sabine almost yelled. Neither of them seemed to notice my presence.

I looked down at the cell phone in my hand. I was shocked! I hadn't known Zach very long, but he didn't seem like the type that would steal anything.

"I'm sure you are going to find my cell phone in there," Sabine continued.

"I think you're overreacting, Sabine," the janitor said, trying to calm her down.

"I am not overreacting! Now do as I tell you, or you may be out of a job," It looks like I need to step in. I took a step closer, and they both seemed to noticed this time.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I found this phone in the hall. You're Sabine, right?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"Oh, but I'm sure Zach stole it…hm…oh, thanks, but you should mind your own business in the future," She took the phone from my hand, giving me an evil glare as she walked away. As she walked down the hall I noticed she dropped something shiny. The janitor didn't seem to notice.

"I need my books and schedule, I'm new here," I explained. The janitor nodded in understanding.

"Follow me to the main office and we'll get you registered," he said. He turned and walked past Mrs. Graham, down the stairs and to the office.

I looked down and saw that the shiny thing Sabine had dropped. They were a couple keys on a chain. These must be the keys Zach lost, I thought.

Suddenly something clicked.

I knew it! I knew Zach wouldn't steal, Sabine must have stole his keys and planted her cell phone in there to get him in trouble. I'll have to tell Zach, and return his keys tomorrow. I though for a second about going to the stables after school and giving him his keys then, but immediately dismissed the idea. I hadn't been in a stable since I was nine, and I didn't really want to go to one either. I ran after the janitor and found him standing in the office, holding a piece of paper with my schedule on it, and some books.

"Here you go, Lisa, all the things you need for class, and here is the key to your new locker. You number is 78. Your first class is in room five in about…" he glanced at the clock above the doors. "two minutes."

He took the books I had borrowed from Zach from me.

"I'll give these back to Zach. I know Mrs. Graham is a real pain sometimes, with the rule that you always have to walk around with books in your arms," he said with a smile. I nodded as he gave me my own books.

"You can say that again."

**Author Note: This is basically a re-telling of a computer game I own called Starshine Legacy: Mystery of The Soulriders. The basic plotline is used, and most of the dialogue, but there are some major changes and differences between this and the game. This story will have a sequel.**


	2. Starshine

"So much for my first day being easy," I grumbled to myself as I walked down the road to my new house.

At least I made a couple new friends, my positive side tried to tell me.

Suddenly something small and shiny on the ground caught my eye. I stopped and bent down. It was a small golden star. One of the points of the star had a small hole in it, just big enough for a string, or a chain to go through, to make a necklace, or maybe a bracelet. What I couldn't figure out though, was what it was made of. It didn't feel like plastic, or any other material I that I know of.

As I looked closer I saw it had something engraved on it. I squinted at it.

"_I gazed awhile_

_On her cold smile;_

_Too cold-too cold for me-_

_There pass'd, as a shroud,_

_A fleecy cloud,_

_And I turned away from thee,_

_Proud evening star, in thy glory afar,"_

I read aloud. What's that supposed to mean? I wondered.

"It's funny how sometimes you find things…and sometimes things find you. Tell me, young lady, do you feel special," A voice in front of me said. I nearly jumped out of my skin, not only because this voice came out of nowhere, but because I recognized the voice. I looked up and saw the creepy Mr. Sand from school, only now he was wearing a long, brown, button up coat. he gave me another creepy smile.

"I-I'm sorry, s-sir. I'm in a hurry," I stuttered. I ran around him, and back down the path.

"Don't rush out into the street little friend. It can be deadly-ask your mother,"

Panic hit me, clouding my vision as I ran. I couldn't see where I was going, all I knew was that I had to get away from that creepy Mr. Sands.

When I finally ran out of breathe, and my lungs felt like they were about to explode, I stopped. I leaned forward, my hands pressed on my knees, my head down, trying to catch my breathe.

Suddenly a shadow covered me.

I realized that I might have come out of the ashes, and into the fire. I straightened myself up, and saw Jeff standing above me. He was standing an a small cliff, about 4 feet tall, his shadow covering me, but that's not what scared me.

The clouds had covered the sun, and the shadows from the trees behind Jeff covered him, making him seen dark and scary, along with the evil look on his face.

"What's the matter? You look like you've just seen a ghost," he commented. I must have had a terrified look on my face because he suddenly laughed.

"Don't be afraid," he said as he stretched out his hand. I took it and he pulled me on top of the small cliff with him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Well, I was walking home, when…" I started to explain, but stopped. There was no need to tell him about Mr. Sands, after all, the creeper hadn't done anything, and if my dad ever found out he probably wouldn't let me out of his sight again, he was really overprotective like that. It was bad enough moving to a new place, I didn't want to be house bound on top of that.

"When, what happened?" Jeff asked, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Um, I got lost," I lied.

"Oh, well, I can walk you home, but first I have to feed my horse, Tin Can at the stables. It's nearby, so it won't take long," Jeff assured me. Well, as long as we're going to the stables I might as well give Zach his keys back while I'm there.

After a few minutes we reached a 20 foot gate. At the top it read Jorvik. Jeff and I walked up to the gates, and he pushed them open.

"This is the Jorvik stables. I keep my horse here, and work here every day after school, and sometimes on the weekend,"

"What kind of work do you do here?" I asked.

"Well, whenever the machinery breaks, I fix it, and in return I get to keep my horse, Tin Can, here for free,"

About 20 feet in front of us was a paddock for exercising and riding the horses, and in front of it was Anne and her horse, Concorde.

When we got closer Anne walked up to Jeff and I.

"Hey, Jeff, Mr. Herman wants you to fix the engine in the horse feeding machine, it broke,"

"Alright," he said with a sigh. He turned to me, "Looks like I'll be here all afternoon, maybe even after the stables close, I'm sorry, but I won't be able to walk you home-" I cut him off.

"It's alright, I can walk myself home, I know the way. I remember my dad telling me that our house is only a mile from the stables. I can find my way," I assured him.

"You sure?" he asked, skeptical.

"Absolutely,"

"Well, until I see you again…" Jeff grabbed my hand and kissed the top. I could feel my cheeks turning red. What's with the guys here in Jorvik? They all seem to like me. I looked over at Anne, and saw she looked a little mad. Jeff ran off towards a building, disappearing inside.

"Hey, Lisa," Anne greeted me with a frown. I don't know what this girl's problem is, but she's really getting on my nerves.

"I didn't know you were interested in riding too. This is my horse Concorde, which I'm sure you already knew. He's the finest stallion at this place. By the way, were you all flirty with Josh earlier when you gave him my cell number?" Anne asked, with slight annoyance in her voice.

"No, not at all. Have you seen Zach?" Anne seemed to lighten up after I said that.

"I think I saw Zach a little while ago. Have you tried the stables?" I shook my head. Anne raised a manicured finger and pointed at a pair of double doors, in front of them was a man and a girl, talking.

"Thanks," I said before running towards the stables. As I got closer I realized that the girl was Sabine, and she was arguing with the man. She always seems to be arguing with someone. I got close enough to hear what they were saying.

"Kaahn is the fastest horse around, and I demand to be listed as the top rider for the upcoming competition," she suddenly noticed me standing there.

"What are you doing here, city girl? The Jorvik stables has over a year's waiting list, so you can forget about riding here," she said angrily.

"Sabine is right, the school is full, unfortunately. I would love to make room for you, but right now that's not possible," the man agreed. "But please have a look around and make yourself at home,"

"Thanks. I actually looking for Zach, do you know where he is?" I asked.

"You might want to try the stables-he helps out there, taking inventory of supplies,"

"Listen, little red riding hood, don't get in me and Kaahn's way!" Sabine snapped before storming off. I walked past Mr. Herman and into the stables.

I looked around but all I saw was a white horse, with a blue mane and tail, and a woman with long brown pulled back in a bun, patting him. She didn't notice I had walked in.

"Such a tragedy," she mumbled sadly.

"What's a tragedy?" I asked. The woman jumped a little, startled. She turned to face me.

"That this horse, this fine horse, has something's wrong with him," she explained.

"What's wrong with him?"

"His name is Starshine. He has the potential to be the fastest horse in Jorvik, but he seems to have lost his willpower. He won't eat, drink or let anyone near him. It's really too bad. I think we might have to put him down," she said sadly before turning and leaving.

"Who are you?" I heard a man's voice ask. I looked all around me, but no one was here, just me and the horse. I know this is gonna sound crazy, but for a minute it sounded like the voice came from inside my head.

"Who said that?" I asked. "Hello?"

"Come closer to the box, I'm here in the dark," the voice replied. The voice seemed to be coming from the horse, but that's impossible. Horses can't talk…can they?

"Starshine, how can I hear you…inside my head?" I asked aloud, I felt a little dumb, standing here talking to a horse, expecting him to respond.

"I don't know, but I understand you too…weird stuff," Starshine replied. "Please help me, something is destroying me from the inside, a dark power, but I don't know what it is. I'm sure I could get back in the ring if someone like you will help me,"

I don't know how I can understand this horse Starshine, or why, but I felt the need to help him, like nothing else in the world mattered anymore but helping this horse.

I have to help him, I thought. I need to talk to Mr. Herman.

I ran outside the stables, but Mr. Herman was nowhere in sight. I ran over a girl dressed in riding clothes, who was sitting on the fence, flirting with a boy.

"Have either of you seen Mr. Herman?" I asked them. The boy shook his head.

"Yeah, he was in front of the stable doors a few minutes ago. I don't know where he is now," she said.

Yeah, thanks, that helped so much, I though sarcastically.

I turned around and walked back into the stables. I nearly ran into Zach, who was walking out. When he saw me his eyes lit up.

"Hi, Lisa! Nice to see you here. I didn't know you were interested in riding,"

"Actually, I was just looking for you. I came here to return your keys. Thanks for helping me out today,"

"Thanks," he said taking the keys from my hand. "Where did you find them?"

"Sabine dropped them, and I'm pretty she used them to put her cell phone in your locker and make you look like a thief. I think she has a grudge against you,"

"That makes sense, she's been mad at me ever since I turned her in for cheating off me on last week's Math test,"

Suddenly Zach looked at my hand.

"Hey, what's that in your hand?" he asked.

"Huh?" I looked at my hand, closed in a tight fist around something. I opened it and saw the star I had found just before Mr. Sands had appeared.

"Oh, I just found this while I was walking home," Zach took it from my hand, looking it over.

"Hey, this is pretty cool," he said. "Can I borrow it?"

"Sure," I said. As long as you give it back, I added mentally. To tell the truth I wanted to keep it, it was kinda pretty, and mysterious.

"Hey, listen, I need to get Starshine into the ring to prove his worth, or he might be put down. The only problem is that I haven't been riding in years and I don't know if I can still do it," I explained.

"Don't worry, Lisa, just believe in yourself and it'll work out fine," Zach said, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

Suddenly the stable doors opened and Mr. Herman walked in. Zach quickly dropped his hand to his side.

"Well, I see you've found Zach," Mr. Herman said to me.

"Hey, Mr. Herman, Lisa wants to take Starshine out in the ring to proves he's worth keeping around," Zach said. Mr. Herman looked at me for a few moments.

"That's not such a bad idea. Something tells me you could actually pull this off…Lisa, is it? I'm sure we can find you some riding gear and get Starshine out in the smaller paddock," he agreed. "I see a sadness in you, and a longing for something more…I see that in Starshine too. You two are a lot alike, maybe you're his soul mate, or should I say, soulrider,"

* * *

I stood in the riding ring that I had seen when I arrived here. Starshine stood in front of me, ready to go.

Everyone crowded around the gate, anxious to see if I could pull it off. Sabine, Mr. Herman, Anne, Zach, and Josh were waiting, waiting to see if I would fail or succeed. Even Jeff left his work to come watch. No pressure.

"Well, we got Starshine ready for you. If you can make him come around, I promise you a spot in the riding school and a good future for Starshine," Mr. Herman announced. Yeah, no pressure.

"You're gonna fail big-time, Little red riding hood," Sabine laughed.

"Ignore her, Lisa. Just take it easy and everything will be fine," Zach coached me.

"You go, girl! Don't let Sabine get away with that," Jeff said. I walked over to Starshine and patted him.

"Oh, Starshine, something bad must have happened to you. I'll try to make it better. For some strange reason I feel connected to you, even though I can't hear you anymore. I'm starting to think that I just imagined it," I whispered to Starshine. Everything was quiet for a few moments as I patted his muzzle.

"The dark presence feels stronger now…you have to help me," Starshine pleaded. I looked around and saw that creepy Mr. Sands standing at the far side of the ring. That's weird, it started when that creepy Mr. Sands appeared.

I almost froze with fear, but I reasoned in my head that he couldn't hurt me here, not with all these people standing around. I pulled myself together and mounted Starshine.

"Poor, Starshine, he looks so nervous," Mr. Herman said.

"I don't think she know how to take care of a horse," Sabine said.

I nudged Starshine with my heels and he set off at a slow, but steady pace. After I rode around in a circle I stopped in front of everyone. Sabine's mouth fell open, while everyone else clapped.

"Very nice. Now come over here so we can talk," Mr. Herman said. I dismounted Starshine and walked over to the fence.

"That was impressive. I think you and Starshine have taught us all a lesson. I think it might be a good idea to take Starshine into the bigger paddock to see what he can really do,"

"Well, trotting around is one thing, but that wreck of a horse is nothing compared to Kaahn," Sabine said with a frown, crossing her arms. I walked back over to Starshine.

Let's take it easy, Starshine, and I'm sure this will all work out fine. It's strange…I've been afraid of riding ever since I was 9, but I don't feel scared with you, I told him mentally.

"Hey, Lisa, I have to leave for the library, but if you give me your number I'll call you later," Zach said. I walked over to him, and punched my number into his phone.

"Good luck in the large paddock!" he called as he walked away.

* * *

I stood in a larger ring this time, the crowd still following us, including the weird Mr. Sands.

"This is the large paddock, where the competitions are held," Mr. Herman explained. I looked around at the square shaped paddock. On opposite side there were even larger stands, although the crowd following Starshine and I preferred to stand near the fence.

"Hmph, I'm telling you, the closest you'll come to the competition is as a spectator, so don't even dream about it, city girl," Sabine snapped.

"Remember Starshine has to be galloping before you can jump over the hurdles," Mr. Herman said.

I looked around the ring. There were 7 hurdles, spread out all though the paddock.

I took a deep breathe before climbing up into the saddle.

We can do it, we've already made it this far, I told Starshine mentally.

"Go, Lisa!" Jeff cheered from the fence.

I nudged Starshine with my heels and he took off at a walk. I nudged him again and he sped up to a gallop. As we approached the first hurdle I held my breathe.

Seconds before we reached it I grabbed onto Starshine's mane and got ready for the jump. The next second it felt like we were flying through the air. It was the best feeling in the world. The next 6 hurdles seemed to go by too fast.

When we cleared the last hurdle the crowd cheered, except Sabine and Mr. Sands.

"We're all very impressed, Lisa!" Mr. Herman exclaimed. "Now come over here, I want to talk to you." I dismounted Starshine, and just as I reached Mr. Herman I heard Starshine's voice in my head.

"I feel something bad is about to happen,"

"The white horse is indeed fast," Mr. Sands commented.

"This is fantastic, Lisa. You and Starshine have not only earned a position at the school, but also a spot in the competition this weekend," Mr. Herman said with a smile.

"And when you compete against Kaahn and me, the white cow won't seem so fast," Sabine remarked. I was about to tell Sabine where she can go, when Jeff interrupted my thought.

"Hey! What's wrong with Starshine? Look at him!" Jeff said anxiously. I turned around to see Starshine pawing at the ground, neighing in terror.

"Starshine is nervous again. Lisa, you seem to be the only one who can calm him down. Try patting him again," Mr. Herman said.

I ran over to Starshine, but before I could get there he reared up, then fell over, breathing heavily.

"Help me, Lisa…this is what I feared," he pleaded.

"Tell me what to do Starshine, I'll do anything," I whispered, kneeling down next to him.

"I don't know, but I feel you're the only one who can help me out of this mess," he said in a weak voice.

"Starshine is hurt, help me!" I cried out to the crowd. Mr. Herman jumped over the fence and ran over to Starshine and knelt down next to him.

"Let's get him back to his box and I'll get the vet to look at him immediately," Mr. Herman said, trying to calm me down.


	3. The Library

I stood in front of Starshine's stall patting his mane while the woman I'd met before stood in front of Mr. Herman, telling him her diagnosis. Everyone else had either gone home, or was waiting outside, not wanting to crowd the sick horse.

"It's very troubling. I can't figure out the nature of this injury, but it's obvious that this horse is in pain," she said. Mr. Herman nodded, and the woman walked out, her job done.

"You surprised me today, Lisa. You could obviously reach Starshine in a way that I haven't seen anyone do in a long time," Mr. Herman said to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Some people say that there are special people who have been chosen to communicate with horses, maybe you're one of those people…they go on to say that these people have other powers as well,"

"Do you think I can help Starshine even when the vet can't?" I asked.

"Just look inside yourself, Lisa, and maybe you'll be able to do something that me or the vet can't do,"

"Alright," I agreed. I turned back to Starshine's stall. "Let me see that leg, Starshine, I'm going to try something."

I closed my eyes and summed up all my strength, looking deep inside myself, but it's hard to look for something when you don't even know what you're looking for.

Suddenly I felt a power I'd never felt before in my life. It welled up inside me. I pushed all the energy out towards Starshine. I opened my eyes just in time to see Starshine begin to glow.

"It's so strange, Lisa. The darkness that was choking me almost disappeared. You're almost there, don't give up," Starshine said. I let the power swell up inside of me again. Suddenly Mr. Sands and Sabine walked in just as I pushed all my energy into Starshine.

"I can feel your power, but it's not enough,"

I'm sorry Starshine…I…I can't do it. There's something I need to learn or find out if I'm going to be able to help you. I felt I was close too, but I'm just too weak, I mentally told him. I felt a horrible guilt come over me, like I had failed Starshine, and myself.

"This horse couldn't even manage a simple ride in the ring…and this is what you want the superior Kaahn and me to be competing against? Put him to sleep so this school won't have the embarrassment anymore.

I was ready to turn around and punch this girl in the jaw when Mr. Herman said,

"That's enough, Sabine. Putting him to sleep is out of the question. I saw a wonderful horse out there earlier today, and we're going to take care of him. Especially if he's hurt and needs help," Mr. Herman said in a scolding tone. Sabine opened her mouth to say something, but Mr. Sands cut her off.

"Maybe I can offer a solution. My name is Mr. Sands, and I represent people who are interested in helping needy horses. I'm willing to pay you a handsome price for the poor horse, and you won't break these girls' hearts by putting it to sleep," Mr. Sands said in an eerie voice, the kind of voice a villain would have in a horror movie.

"No, Mr. Herman, you can't let him take Starshine," I begged him.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sands, but I won't sell this horse, but I won't kill him either. Now I must ask you to leave please," Mr. Sands frowned.

"Very well, your passion is commendable. I bid you a good day, but this is far from over. I'll be back," He said before disappeared through the stable doors.

Suddenly my phone vibrated in my riding pants pocket. I excused myself and walked outside to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lisa, it's Zach. Come over to the library at the school-I did some research and came across some very interesting things,"

"The school library? Alright, I'll be there soon," I clicked the End call button and slipped my phone back in my pocket. I walked back inside the stables.

"Mr. Herman, I have to leave, but I'll be back tomorrow first thing in the morning," I said.

"Alright. Don't worry about Starshine, we'll take good care of him," Mr. Herman assured me.

* * *

As I walked up the school steps I felt a huge guilt wash over me. I felt terrible about leaving Starshine in the state he's in.

I also felt a little frightened. It's a no-brainer that I'm not allowed to be at school at this time of night, and building always have an eerie look and feeling at night.

I reached the schools front doors and let out a sigh of relief when they opened. I quietly slipped inside and tiptoed up the marble steps.

My breathe caught in my throat when I reached the top, and I nearly let out a scream of surprise. Standing in the main hall, with a flashing light, patrolling the school, was the janitor. Great, just great.

But I have to sneak into the library and meet Zach, I told myself. But I don't have a clue which door leads to the library. All I knew was that it was one of the doors in the main hall. I found out this morning that all the doors on the second floor lead to classrooms.

The janitor was on the right side of the giant marble statue. I tiptoed over to the left of the statue, letting the statue's shadow hide me in darkness. I tried the first door on the left side of the statue, but found out it was locked. I ran past the trophy case, and the main office, and tried the last door, but it was locked too.

I could only assume that the library was unlocked, Zach would have told me if it was locked. I moved to the north side of the statue, staying close to it as the janitor rounded the statue.

I quietly ran to the set of doors closest to the north left of the statue, but it was locked too. I was starting to get frustrated. Why don't they put labels on their doors, like they did with the main office? It would be a big help!

I could hear the janitors footsteps coming closer to the turn. I ran to the big double doors with the clock above them and prayed with all my heart that they led to the library. I turned the knob, and to my relief and surprise, they were unlocked!

I quickly slipped inside. Once inside, there was a short hallway, lit by lamps, leading to a smaller door. I ran over to it, and pushed it open, revealing Zach sitting at a table, a study lamp turned on. When I burst in he smiled and stood up.

"I'm glad you came, I was afraid that the janitor wouldn't let you in," he motioned with his arm to come over to him. "Come over here, before I show you what I found I have something for you."

I walked over to him and he grabbed my hand and put something small and metallic in it. I opened my hand to see the star I'd let Zach borrow earlier, only now it was hanging by a gold chain.

"Oh, it's beautiful, thanks, Zach," I said with a smile.

"Before I came here I ran home, and asked my mom if I could have the gold chain that she had in her jewelry box. She never wears it, and I thought it would look good with the star. Here let me put it on you," He took the necklace, and unclasped it. I pulled my short, red hair up as he put it around my neck. I looked down at it after Zach fastened the clasp. It looked like it belonged there, around my neck.

I turned around and Zach held up a book he'd been reading when I came in.

"I was doing some research on Mr. Sands, and you won't believe what I found out. Here look at this," Zach handed me the book and pointed at a picture.

I could tell it was an old photo, because it was black and white, and the people were dressed old-fashioned, but that's not what caught my eye.

"Hey, that man on the left looks like Mr. Sands!" I exclaimed. Zach nodded.

"Isn't it weird? This picture is more than a hundred years old and the guy to the left looks exactly like that creepy Mr. Sands," Zach said. I was glad I wasn't the only one who thought he was creepy.

"Yeah, I know, but how is that possible? Is there anymore books about Mr. Sands and the Dark Core Corporation?" I asked.

"Yes, but there are some books missing from the library. I think some negligent students didn't return the books when they should have," I suddenly remembered what I saw on a bench when I was sneaking around in the main hall, and on the balcony of the second story.

"I saw some books scattered in the main hall, maybe they're the missing ones," I reasoned.

"Well, it's worth having a look. I'll help you look. Just remember to stay close to me, and be careful not to let the janitor see you," Zach warned me.

We silently slipped through the first door. I was about to open the second door when Zach stopped me.

"We'll only open it a crack, just to make sure the janitor isn't right outside the door," Zach stepped in front of me and opened the door. After a second he nodded to me.

"He's on the other side of the statue," he whispered in my ear. He silently crept out the door, with me right behind him. I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, and I pointed to a book laying on a bench next to the library doors. We both ran over to it, and Zach picked it up. I looked around, but didn't see any other books, at least not on the right side of the statue. As soon as the janitor turned the corner around the statue Zach and I slipped over to the left side of the statue. I don't think I've ever been as grateful for a statue as I was now.

Zach spotted a book laying open on a bench and picked it up. That made 2 books.

"How many books do we need?" I whispered.

"There were about 5 books missing," he whispered back. Suddenly the janitor said aloud,

"Hey! Is anyone there?" Zach and I nearly froze with fear. The janitors footsteps could be heard running around the statue.

Zach slid behind a pillar, and pulled me behind it with him. He grabbed me around my waist and pulled my close to him.

"Try to make yourself flat," he whispered so softly it was barely audible. I pressed myself closer to him, and stood absolutely still. As the janitors footsteps approached us the light from his flashlight lit the ground around us, but the pillar hid us.

As he got to the pillar closer Zach's arms tightened around my waist, and I felt myself go numb. I couldn't tell if it was from his grip on me, or something else. I could also feel his breathe on my cheek, and it was giving me a weird feeling in my stomach.

After a minute the janitors footsteps retreated. I untangled his arms from around my waist and pulled away. The feeling I got in the pit of my stomach when he had his arms around me was too weird.

"Let's go get the other three books," I said. Zach nodded.

As soon as the janitor got to the other side we slipped out from behind the pillar and up the stairs. As we silently ran through the hallway of the second story we found a book on the balcony, looking like it would fall off any moment. Zach grabbed that one, and I grabbed a book that had been dropped in front of a classroom earlier. As we tiptoed down the stairs opposite of the ones we had run up we found the last one on the staircase.

"That's all the books," Zach whispered when I picked up the book. We waited at the bottom of the stairs until the janitor got to the left side, then ran to the double doors, creeping in the library. We ran through the next door and dropped the books we had found on the table with the lamp on.

Zach sat down and opened the books.

"Well, we found some interesting books," Zach stated. "Combine all this information, and we get some really strange clues." Zach held up a book in the light.

At the top of the page it read, The Jorvik Correspondence, December 14, 1871. Below it was the headline, **Deep Sea Monster Caught Just Outside Jorvik!**

Below that was a picture of a monster with tentacles and about 10 eyes on it's head, and standing next to the monster's dead body were two men, one of which was Mr. Sands. Next to the picture was the story.

"_On the 11th of December a hideous sea creature was caught in a fisherman's net just outside the Jorvik bay. The creature seemed to belong to a deep sea specimen, with several huge eyes and tentacles. The fishing captain, Mr. Sanders, says that the net got tangled to something just above the ocean edge know as the Kraken Depths. Unfortunately, before any scientists were able to examine the unknown sea creature, the fisherman dropped it back into the deep seas just outside the harbor. Due to the immense depth outside Jorvik and the ocean currents, the carcass could not be found again when the scientists search boat dragged the coast line."_

"Isn't is strange? There is our Mr. Sands, but he's called Mr. Sanders here," Zach observed. He put the book down and handed me another one.

"This is from back when the drilling began in Jorvik, but the company was called Deep Core back then," he explained. I examined the article.

"The Jorvik Correspondence, June 11, 1890

**Deep Core Drilling Company Established In Jorvik.**

_"Owner and multibillionaire, adventurer and patron, Mr. Owen D. Sands says: "This will change the face of this island forever. We are going to drill for depths unknown to man. It is the start of a glorious age,"_

_The Deep Core drilling company's goal is to search for unknown metals and ore."The new Industry will hopefully employ hundreds of worker's and put Jorvik on the map of the new global industrial explosion,"_

In the picture next to the article Mr. Sands was standing on a platform, his mouth open, no doubt telling the people of Jorvik what he was planning on doing with the drilling company. Zach put the book down and picked up another book.

"Here's an article about a drilling accident," he commented

"The Jorvik Correspondence, May 8, 1903

**Deep Mining Accident!**

_"190 workers and engineers presumed trapped or dead inside the Deep Core sight. This is the worst disaster ever in Jorvik!_

_During the drilling of a new deep mine shaft at the Deep Core 3 mine, a cave-in occurred in the early hours of May 7th. The cave-in trapped all night shift workers on their way up after a day's work."_

In the picture there was a man standing next to a mechanical drilling machine, with ominous mountains looming in the background. Zach took the book from me and laid it on the table, handing me another book.

"Further accidents happened at the Deep Core sites. They had to shut down in 1904," Zach said.

"The Jorvik Correspondence, Aug 24, 1904

**Deep Core Shuts Down!**

_"Deep Core drilling company closes down its facilities and business in Jorvik."Due to the deadly incident in 1903, when 211 workers and 14 civilians died in a presumed cave-in/gas accident, the company is forced to shut down its entire business in Jorvik."_

In the picture there was a police officer standing in front of a wooden sign with a skull and two bones crossed in an X. Zach put the book down and handed me another book.

"Look at this! It's a story about a horse called Little Starshine. All these name similarities are getting creepy," Zach commented.

"The Jorvik Correspondence, July 16, 1933

**Horse Saves Four Children Trapped In Old Ruins!**

_"A horse became the hero of yesterday's rescue mission in the old grave field northwest of Jorvik. After a school excavation trip to the ruins, four children, two boys and two girls, went missing._

_A massive search party comprised of police, school staff, and local citizens searched the old field for hours. The four young children were found just before sundown, not by the search party, but by a horse called 'Little Starshine' from the Jorvik riding school._

_The heroic horse found a narrow hole where the children seemed to have slipped through. All children were safe, although somewhat confused, as they spoke about the ghost they had met in the ruins. When the hole was investigated, the search party found no signs of a ghost, of course."_

This picture had a horse that looking exactly like Starshine, with 4 young children, about 10 or 11, standing in front of him. Something about these kids looked strangely familiar.

"Do these kids look familiar to you?" I asked Zach. He squinted at the picture, then his eyes suddenly widened.

"Yeah! That boy right there looks like me, only younger, and that girl in front looks like a younger version of you, and the other two look like younger versions of Anne and Jeff!" Zach exclaimed.

"This is all getting a little too weird for me," I said.

Suddenly my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled out and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Lisa! Are you with Zach? You have to come back to the stables as fast as possible. Something terrible has happened!" Anne's voice cried frantically. My mind went straight to Starshine.

"Alright, I'll be right over," I said in a hurry.

"What is it?" Zach asked as I hung up my phone.

"Something terrible just happened at the stables, and I think it has to do with Starshine. I have to get over there," I said.

"Alright, I'll come with you,"


	4. Warehouse

It was hard to see in the dark, but Zach and I managed to reach Jorvik stables.

"Did Anne say what had happened?" Zach asked as we rushed over to the stable doors.

"No, she just said that something terrible had happened. Oh, this is all my fault. I knew I shouldn't have left Starshine,"

"This isn't your fault, and you know it. Sometimes these things happen and no one's to blame," Zach counseled as I threw open the wooden stable doors.

I saw Anne, Jeff and Mr. Herman standing next to Starshine's empty box.

"Anne, Jeff, what happened here?" I asked desperately.

"Starshine is gone! I don't really know what happened, but Mr. Herman saw it all!" Anne exclaimed.

"I can't believe it! Masked men broke in here-into my stables-and took Starshine right before my eyes!" Mr. Herman exclaimed angrily.

"How'd they take him so quickly? I mean, wasn't he injured?" Anne asked.

"Two men grabbed me, while the other ones grabbed Starshine. What nerve!"

"Maybe the people who did this left some traces or something? Let's search the stables," Jeff suggested.

"Alright, you do that while I check the stable grounds," Mr. Herman agreed. Mr. Herman walked out, while Anne, Jeff, Zach and I searched the stables.

Anne was checking in all 15 stable boxes, along with Jeff, while Zach's eyes scanned the stone floor that was currently covered with hay.

I walked down the row of stables, my eyes peeled, looking for anything out of the ordinary, but like I said before, it's hard to look for something when you don't know what you're looking for.

Suddenly a small, blue box caught my eyes. In was dropped between the small gap between stables boxes. I bent down and picked it up. It was a small, light blue matchbox, with the Dark Core logo on it. As I looked closer at it, I saw something was scrawled on it.

"**'DC Barricade' **what's that?" I asked aloud.

"Oh, I know what that is. It's an old abandoned Dark Core warehouse. We should go there and see if that's where they took Starshine," Anne suggested.

Suddenly there was small bang from outside.

"What was that?" I asked.

"That's the sound the wooden plank makes when it barricades the stable doors after the stables close, so the horses can't get out." Jeff explained. "Someone must've locked the stable doors from the outside."

We ran over to the door, trying to open it, but Jeff was right, it was locked from the outside.

"Mr. Herman? Did you lock the door?" Anne asked. Jeff rolled his eyes.

"Why would he lock the door?" Jeff said, as if it were the stupidest idea in the world.

"You got a better idea?" Anne snapped.

"Stop fighting!" I exclaimed.

"Who locked the door?" Zach asked, knocking on the door.

"I heard what you were planning to do, and I can't let you go to the warehouse! If the teachers and your parents find out, they'll go crazy!" Sabine's voice answered. "Stay here and let the police take care of this." Her footsteps faded away, as we stood there, trying to figure out how to get out.

"I can't believe she locked us in!" I said.

"That girl is just too much!" Anne agreed. "What's she trying to pull?"

"She's completely mental, doesn't she know what's at stake here?" Jeff interjected.

"How are we going to get out of here?" I asked.

"Hey, look!" Zach suddenly exclaimed. We all turned to look at what Zach was pointing out. It was a lever of some sort, on the far side of the stables against the wall.

"That's the lever used to open the doors, Zach you're a genius!" Jeff praised. Zach ran over to the lever and pressed down as hard as he could.

"It won't budge, something's jamming the lock," Zach explained. We all ran over to Zach, crowding around the lever.

"Anne and I will heave ourselves down on the lever, I think we can open the hatch enough for you and Jeff to get out," Zach offered. Jeff nodded.

"And we can ride Tin Can to the warehouse, it's pretty far away," Jeff agreed.

"Get Tin Can, run to the door, and Anne and I will get the door open," Jeff grabbed his horse from his box, saddled him up and mounted him. When he was on top of the horse he held his hand out to me. I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up on the saddle, behind him.

"Alright, we're ready," Jeff announced.

"Alright, 1...2...3, Heave!" Zach cried out. The doors opened just enough for Jeff and I to slip through on Tin Can.

* * *

I wrapped my arms tight around Jeff's waist as we flew through the woods.

"How far away is this place?" I asked.

"About 3 miles. We should be there in about 10 minutes,"

He was right, 10 minutes later we arrived at the warehouse, only it didn't look like any warehouse I'd ever seen, it looked more like a heavily guarded fortress, with 30 feet high walls, and big metal gates at the entrance we happened to arrive at.

It didn't look like there were any guards on duty from the outside, but I was sure that it would be crawling with them on the inside.

"How are we going to get in?" Jeff asked. I shivered.

"I don't know," I said, rubbing my hands against my arms. It was cold, and Jeff noticed.

"Here, take my jacket," he said, slipping his jacket off and placed in on my shoulders. I pulled it close around my body. It was so warm.

"Thanks,"

Suddenly I heard a ringing sound. I looked around frantically. We must have set off an alarm or something.

"Don't worry, it's just my cell phone," Jeff said. He pulled it out of his pocket.

"Hello?" he answered. I heard yelling on the other end.

"Calm down mom, I, uh…I had to stay late at the stables to fix the motor on the feeding machine,"

"Alright, alright, I'll come home," he said with a sigh. He closed the phone.

"I really have to go before my mom completely freaks out," Jeff said.

"Don't worry, I can do this by myself," Jeff reached in his back pocket and pulled something out, handing it to me.

"Here take this," Jeff said. In my hand was a tool that I've never seen before. "It's great to have if you ever get in a jam." It was small enough to fit in my pocket, so I slipped it in there.

"Thanks," I said.

"Be careful in there," Jeff warned.

"Don't worry, I will be," I assured him.

"Give me your phone," Jeff said. I pulled it out of my pocket and gave it to him. He punched a few button before handing it back. Jeff gave me a kiss on the cheek before mounting his horse.

"Just call me if you need any help," he said. I looked down at my phone and saw he had punched in his number.

As Jeff rode off into the fading darkness I looked around at the heavily guarded industrial complex.

How am I going to get in? I though. My eyes wandered over to a big pipe. It had bars in front of it, but they were bent away from the pipe. Somebody must have snuck in before, and that's probably how they got in.

I ran over to the pipe and got down on my hands and knees, and crawled through the dark, wet pipe.

When I got to the opening I saw 4 search lights scanning the place. There were 2 metal doors, on either side of the block of the industrial complex I had snuck into, but they looked like they needed some sort of an electronic key or card to open them.

Besides the gates and the search lights there were pipes everywhere, small pipes and big pipes, and half of this block of the complex was split into 2 parts, divided down the middle by a tall fence. Where the fence ended was a big machine. I couldn't tell what is was, or what this machine was supposed to do, but it loomed above me. 5 pipes came out of it, 4 small, and one large pipe, all of them connected to each other. On each of these 4 pipes were wheels that looked like they could be turned, with steam coming out of vents right next to the wheels. It must be a way to release steam, I reasoned. A plan started to formulate in my mind.

If I can use the 4 wheels to seal all the pipes here, the steam pressure may blow a hole in the big pipe, big enough for me to squeeze through, I reasoned.

I ran around to all 4 wheels, narrowly dodging the search lights, turning all of them until there was no steam coming out.

First there was a high whistling sound, then suddenly a huge chunk of the big pipe blew out. I screamed in surprise.

A huge cloud of smoke came out from the pipe, then stopped. The search lights flickered, then turned completely off. They must have been connected to the big machine somehow.

I ran over to the big pipe and saw to my delight that it was a hole big enough for me to walk through, and I wouldn't have to worry about search lights anymore.

I climbed in and figured I should go left, since the right path would lead straight into the ominous machine.

I ran through the pipe, the whole time hoping that it would lead me to Starshine. Oh, Starshine, I'm so sorry I ever left you, I thought, hoping me could hear me.

The pipe suddenly opened up to one side. Looks like I blew a hole another hole in it.

I stumbled out of the pipe, looking around. There were large wooden boxes in this block, and 2 metal doors on either side, just like the last one. To the right of the pipe was a was large square hole in the ground, with a ladder leading down into it. There was nothing there, except a large pipe. Looks like I would be walking through a pipe again.

I ran through the pipe, anxious to get to Starshine. When the pipe opened up again I saw it led to a narrow pipe, and below that pipe a green river of toxic waste. I would have to be careful.

I walked on the pipe, then when it ended I saw another pipe going the opposite way, right under it, and this pipe was even narrower that the one I was on now.

I took a deep breath and jumped onto the pipe below. This pipe went directly across the green river.

I was scared to death of falling in. Suddenly the lyric, _'Ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you, babe'_ ran through my head. With a determination I didn't even know I had in my, I stepped onto the pipe. I held my breath the whole time.

The pipe ended when it connected to the wall, but under this pipe was another pipe, this one a bit wider.

I jumped onto it, and followed it as it curved upward, above a pipe that opened up under the pipe I was on. The pipe under the one I was standing on wasn't dumping any toxins in the river that led to the sea.

I looked down into the pipe below me. It was broken at the top, as if inviting me to jump into the pipe. I looked to see where my pipe led, but it ended as it turned to the right and went into the wall. I sighed.

Well, here goes nothing. I jumped into the pipe below, just inches away from where it ended and dropped 30 feet, into the deadly river.

I turned around and ran up the pipe as it took a steep turn upward. When it leveled out again I saw a break in the pipe. I carefully climbed out and looked around.

This block was a bit bigger than the other I had been in. This one only had one metal door, unlike the other ones, and this one had a car parked by a big machine. I searched for a face in the car, but when I didn't find one I ran over to it.

As I got closer I saw it had the Dark Core logo on it.

"Lisa, this is a dark place, and I am weaker than ever before," Starshine told me. He must be close since I can hear him, I thought.

Don't worry, I'm coming to save you, I told him. As I reached the car I saw a small rectangular card on the ground. It also had the Dark Core logo on it. It must be the electronic key card that opens the gates. All I have to do now is find Starshine, and we can escape.

I turned around and looked at the big gate that led inside a building of some sort. I ran up to the huge gate. The lights on the gate turned green and it opened. I tiptoed inside. Where there was Starshine, I'm sure there would be guards.

I ran inside, and peeked around the corner to the right. There, beyond a flight of stairs was Starshine, in a cage, with 2 men guarding him.

They didn't look like ordinary men, they looked like henchmen out of a horror movie. They had on faded green jumpsuits with dark green trench coats, and hoods that covered their faces.

"Lisa, I can feel your presence…I am here in this cage," Starshine said weakly.

Don't worry Starshine I'll save you, I reminded him. I'll get rid of these guys somehow.

I looked around for something to distract them with. My eyes landed on the alarm button directly in front of me, next to it was a vent with black smoke billowing out of it.

I can press the alarm, then when they come running out I'll be able to hide behind the thick steam, I decided.

I tiptoed over to the alarm, careful not to make any noise, then pressed the button. A high pitched alarm filled the building. The guards ran from their positions, just as I stepped on top of the vent. For a minutes it seemed like they were running straight at me, but they just ran right past me. As soon as they were gone, I stepped out of the smoke.

That should keep them busy for a while, I thought.

I ran up the steps and straight to Starshine's cage.

"I'm gonna try and get you out of here," I told him.

"Lisa, it seems our friendship will be very short-lived. I don't see how we can escape this,"

"Don't give up, Starshine," I pleaded. "I'll do whatever I can to save you."

"You have a special power, I promise you that, and you woke me up from a dark sleep, but you've already tried to heal me and it didn't work,"

"My father always told me, never give up, and I'm stronger now, Starshine. My love for you is so much more powerful than those dark and evil men,"

I summed up all my strength and energy, ready for another try. Just when I felt like I would explode with all this built up energy, I pushed it all onto Starshine. He glowed for a minute before he stood up. He neighed in delight.

"I did it! I managed to heal you! Where my powers come from, I'll never know,"

"You really did it, Lisa! You got rid of all the darkness that was infecting my leg. That was amazing, and I hate to rain on your parade, but I'm still trapped in this cage,"

I thought for a moment. Suddenly I remembered the tool Jeff gave me outside this place.

"Hey, Jeff gave me a tool a little while back, I think I may be able to use it to open the cage," I told Starshine.

Suddenly a door about 20 feet away from the cage opened. Mr. Sands and 2 henchmen ran out.

"I knew it! The girl had special powers that are somehow connected with the white horse!" he cried. I had to act now. I pulled my arm back and hit the cage with all my might.

To my surprise, the cage fell apart all around us. That was odd, but no time to question it, I need to get us out of here!

"I'm ready! Jump on my back and I'll get us out of here!" Starshine cried in my head. I hopped on Starshine's back.

"Run all you like, little girl. Something dark is coming for you and the horse, and it's coming fast! Ha-ha!"

"You can't catch me, Starshine is too fast!" I yelled at him before Starshine took off down the stairs.

Turns out, finding our way of this place is the easy part, but getting past the henchmen, who had all been alert as to our presence, now that was a different story, but we managed to dodge every one of them.

As we raced out the last automatic door, and into the woods outside I let out a sigh of relief.

"We made it," I told Starshine. Suddenly I heard a loud, angry neighing just behind us. I turned around, but couldn't see anything, but the thundering hoof beat I suddenly heard sounded like something was getting close.

Mr. Sands words repeated themselves in my head, _"Something dark is coming for you and the horse, and it's coming fast!"_

"Looks like you spoke too soon," Starshine said.

"I'll bet that's the thing Mr. Sands was telling us about," I whispered, almost frozen with fear.

"I'd bet a months worth of food on that guess," Starshine said.

"Don't worry," I told Starshine. "We can out run this thing," I said, more to convince myself, than Starshine.

"You got that right," Starshine said with determination. He sped up as the thundering hooves got closer and closer. I didn't dare sneak a peek at what was chasing us, I was too afraid of what it was.


	5. Competition

As Starshine and I tore through the woods to escape the thing chasing us, branches and leaves that reached out from trees on either side of the narrow trail scratched my face. I could feel blood oozing down my cheeks, but I couldn't feel the pain. I forced myself not to think about it. I needed to concentrate on the road ahead of us. All I could feel was Starshine panting and running for our lives beneath me.

Suddenly we burst out of the narrow woods trail and came to a rocky trail. Around us were jagged cliffs, here the trail was even narrower, with rocks threatening to crumble and plummet us to our death. Suddenly Starshine flew through the air. I almost fell off, but managed to grab a fistful of his mane. I screamed as he landed on the hard rocky ground.

"Sorry, princess, but there was a jump," he apologized.

_Well let me know next time so I don't fly off,_ I told him. Suddenly the hard, stone trail widened out, as a bridge came into view. I let out a sigh, glad we wouldn't be riding dangerously anymore. Suddenly my breathe caught in my throat as I looked closely at the bridge. There was a huge gaping hole in the middle of the bridge, a huge jump.

"We're not gonna make that jump."

"Oh, yes we are," I said confidently. I could feel Starshine welling up all his strength. The next second we were flying through the air. I nearly bounced out of the saddle when Starshine landed on the other side.

As we kept riding I looked back and saw a rider cloaked in all black, almost invisible at night. The rider was riding a black horse, with fire coming out of it's nose, and sparks flying behind it as it charged towards the jump. I held my breath, but let it all out in a sigh of relief when it stopped short of the jump.

I turned back around and was surprised what I saw in front of us. Starshine slowed to a stop.

It looked like old ruins, with giant pillars surrounding it. Starshine slowly walked up to the outside and stopped. I dismounted him and walked down the stone steps. The pillars surrounding the outside were in a circle shape, and inside the pillars there was a glowing pink symbol, shaped like a mirror. Where there would have been a mirror there were four detailed horse drawings, all glowing pink, and in an inner ring there were four detailed drawing of humans; two girls, and two boys.

I suddenly felt dizzy when I recognized the people in the picture. There was one with medium-length hair, one that looked exactly like me, and the others looked exactly like Zach, Anne and Jeff.

"Starshine, look at this," I said, waving him over. He trotted over to me.

"Hey, that looks like you, and me, and your friends," he neighed in surprise.

"Yeah. Well, we need to get back to the stables. It's almost dawn. I'll have to tell Zach about these ruins,"

"But what about the thing that was chasing us?" Starshine asked.

"I think the cloaked rider is gone by now. It stopped at the gap in the bridge," I assured him.

I mounted Starshine and we rode back to the gap. This time the jump seemed easier, and the rider was gone.

As we rode through the woods there was a peace, a quiet mixed with a sense of relief that we weren't being chased anymore.

Suddenly I heard a high pitched neighing sound coming from behind us. I nearly fell out of the saddle in surprise. Loud hoof beats could be heard in the distance, but they still sounded close, too close. Terror blinded me when I realized we had been tricked.

As soon as Starshine heard the sound he took off like a bullet down the woods trail. Suddenly we went around a sharp turn, and I fell out of the saddle. I landed in a bush, and immediately felt a sharp pain in my head as everything went black.

* * *

The sun shining through breaks in the trees shone on my eyes, waking me up, along with the dull throbbing in my head. I tried to sit up, but I felt dizzy when I did. I feel back onto the grass, waiting for the nausea to wear off.

"Lisa!" I heard someone call from far away. I recognized the voice as Zach's.

"Lisa, are you here?" someone else yelled from afar. This time it was Mr. Herman's voice.

"I'm over here," I yelled as loud as I could, still laying on the hard ground. I heard a scurry of feet, and a second later Zach and Anne's faces appeared above me. When Zach saw me he let out a breath of relief.

"Lisa, are you Ok? What happened?" he asked as he helped me sit up, while Anne disappeared.

"I fell off Starshine last night, and hit my head on something hard. It must have knocked me out," I explained.

"Everyone's been looking for you all morning," Zach told me as Anne reappeared behind him, along with Jeff and Mr. Herman.

"Lisa, are you alright?" Mr. Herman asked. I nodded.

"My head hurts and I feel a little dizzy, but other than that I think I'm fine," I said. Suddenly I remembered Starshine.

"Wait! Where's Starshine?" I asked frantically. Mr. Herman put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down.

"Don't worry, Lisa. He's right behind me," I looked past Mr. Herman and saw Starshine pawing at the ground, staring at me.

What happened Starshine? I asked him in my head.

"You fell off me, and I knew that if I stayed there, that thing would find catch you, and me, so I led it away, and after I lost it, I went to the stables, and found everyone there, then led them back here," Starshine explained. I felt a great relief. For a moment I thought that Starshine had left me to save himself, then I instantly regretted even thinking that.

"Do you still feel up to competing in the competition today?" Jeff asked. My eyes widened.

"That's today?" I gasped, and everyone nodded in response. I looked at Starshine.

You feel up to competing? I asked him.

"If you do, then I do," he replied.

"Yeah." I told everyone. "I just need some rest before I compete though, I'm tired." I knew the competition didn't start until 2:00 pm., so I would have some time to rest and relax before then.

"Yeah, we should get you home," Zach agreed. I tried to stand up, but the world spun and tilted beneath me feet. I felt a pair of arms catch me before I could fall.

"I can carry her," Jeff offered. I opened my eyes just in time to see Zach give Jeff a look that clearly said, 'back off'.

"I can carry her," Zach said as he lifted me off the ground.

"I know you could carry her, but it would be easier for me to carry her since I'm stronger," Jeff argued as he took a step towards me.

"Oh, is that what you think?" Zach shot back.

"She can ride on Starshine's back," Mr. Herman said, putting an end to their argument. I could tell Zach wasn't exactly happy about it, but he put me in Starshine's saddle, then took the reigns and we all walked to my house. On the way Starshine and I talked mentally.

"I think Zach and Jeff both like you," Starshine said, and I could tell by the way he said it, that he was smiling.

Yeah, I noticed that, I replied. I've never had two boys fight over me before, and honestly, I don't like the feeling.

* * *

"_I came to say goodbye."_

"_But why, Boris, why?"_

"_I've made up my mind. I'm going away."_

"_But I shall be alone."_

"_That journey to the desert you have spoken up, you will take it alone?"_ Boris asked his wife, Domini, as he prepared to leave her.

"_What else can I do?"_ she asked, as I mouthed the lines from the movie I had seen so many times.

"_Once you said to me, that peace and happiness might be found there. You gave me hope, and now…now we have to say goodbye,"_ I mouthed, as Boris said it on the screen. I could feel the tears coming. This scene always made me cry, even though I've seen this movie a million times.

"_Goodbye,"_ I heard someone say from my door, quoting Domini's next line. I jumped about a foot, startled, until I realized it was Zach. He stood in my doorway, leaning against the frame.

"Watching _The Garden of Allah_?" he asked, even though he probably already knew. I nodded, surprised. It was from the 1930's, so it wasn't to well known.

"It's a great classic," he said with a smile. I nodded.

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite movies," I admitted. Then I suddenly realized something I should have realized when I saw Zach in my doorway.

"Hey, How'd you get in my house?" I asked. My dad wasn't here, so he couldn't have let him in, and the door wasn't unlocked. Zach pulled a key out of his pocket.

"You really need to find a better hiding spot for your house key," he said, and I blushed. Ok, so maybe hiding it under the flower pot outside wasn't the best idea.

"I was on my way to the horse riding competition at the stables, when I passed your house, and I thought that if you hadn't left yet, I could walk you there," he said nervously. "You did remember you were competing today, didn't you?"

"Of course, I was just about to leave. Watching old movies helps me relax before I have to do someone important," I explained. I stopped the movie, then turned the TV off, standing up.

"Nervous?" Zach asked, as I took a deep breath.

"Yeah, but I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I said as I walked over to him.

* * *

I took a deep breath as I pulled my riding helmet over my head. Today is the day, I told myself. The day of the tournament. There were only 4 people competing, a girl named Abigail, another girl named Andrea, Sabine and I.

Everything was set, the course had been laid out, the crowd was here, and everyone was pumped, we were just waiting for Sabine to arrive, and she should be here any minute. Zach, Anne, Jeff, Josh, and Mr. Herman were all standing behind the fence. I don't know why they prefer to stand next to the fence, instead of sitting in the stands, but hey, it's their choice.

I buckled my helmet and walked over to Mr. Herman. He smiled.

"So, they day has come, Lisa. You've already proven what a courageous and resourceful girl you are. I'm going to be honest with you, this race is between you and Sabine, it's going to come down to you two racing in the finals. Kaahn is fast, but Starshine should have a fair chance," Mr. Herman coached me.

"Thanks," I said. Mr. Herman nodded and walked away. Josh, who was standing a few feet away from Mr. Herman, turned to face me.

"I'm cheering for you, Lisa. I hear that you play guitar. I'd love to hear you play sometime," Josh said with a smile. I could see Zach glaring at him from the corner of my eye. I could tell he was a little jealous. Suddenly the gates that led to the ramp that led down to the fence line burst open. Sabine and Kaahn came trotting down and the ramp and up to me.

"Hello, Lisa," Sabine said with a frown. "Today you and that stupid albino horse are going down." She suddenly noticed Josh standing a few feet away.

"Oh, hi, Josh. What are you doing slumming with the punk girl?" she asked him sweetly.

"Hey, Sabine. I was just wishing her luck, that's all," he said. Sabine faked a sweet smile.

"Aw, Josh, you're so nice, but she'll need a lot more than luck to beat me and Kaahn."

"You can beat her, Lisa, now get up in the saddle and believe in yourself, and Starshine," Anne said, putting in her two cents worth. I was surprised. At first I thought that Anne was the typical spoiled, rich girl, but I had seen a different side of her the last day. We had become fast friends. I smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Anne."

I ran over to Starshine and mounted him.

"Alright, time for the competition to begin," Mr. Herman announced. The first race was Abigail and her horse, Penelope, against Starshine and I.

I walked through the gate and into the course. Starshine walked up to the starting line, waiting for Mr. Herman to explain to the crowd how the race would go down.

"The race is divided into three rounds. To complete one round the girls must race around the track three times. The first one over the finish line after three laps is the winner of the round. The best of all three rounds will be the winner, and earn a spot in the finals," Mr. Herman announced. Mr. Herman paused for a second as he reached for his whistle than hung around his next. As soon as the whistle blew Starshine and I took off, with Abigail and her horse following at a slower pace.

It wasn't hard to beat her, so I won all three rounds and earned a spot in the finals. After I finished my race with Abigail it was time for Sabine and Kaahn to compete against a girl named Andrea and her horse, Sparky.

It was clear from the time the whistle blew, and Sabine and Andrea took off across the star line, that Sabine would win. After Sabine beat Andrea in all three rounds she looked over at me.

"Looks like the finals will be easy," she said.

"It's time for the final race," Mr. Herman announced. I nudged Starshine with my heels and he walked out onto the course and up to the starting line. Mr. Herman stood in front of us.

"You know the rules. Remember, three laps, three rounds. Best out of the three rounds is the winner. May the best rider win," Mr. Herman told us.

"Oh, don't worry, I will," Sabine said with a smirk on her face. Mr. Herman ignored her comment as he walked out the gate that separated the racing course from where the spectators sat, or in my friends case, stood.

Mr. Herman raised the whistle to his lips and gave it a loud blow.

Both Sabine and I took off on our horses. For the first lap we were neck to neck, but by the 3rd lap I was barely a hair in front of Sabine. As we crossed the finish line Mr. Herman blew his whistle.

"Lisa is the winner of the first round," he announced. I couldn't believe my ears.

I did it! I won the first round! I found it hard to believe that just yesterday Starshine was injured and sick.

"Hmph," Sabine snorted. "You were just lucky this time. I'll beat you in the next round."

Sabine and I got in the position for the second round, and at the sound of the whistle we both took off like bullets.

At first Sabine was in the lead, but I was close behind. By the end of the 2nd lap I was about a foot behind Sabine, but by the 3rd lap I had caught up with Sabine. We were neck and neck, but at the last moment Kaahn had a burst of energy, and won by a hair.

"Ha-ha! You don't stand a chance!"

We have to do better in the next round, I mentally told Starshine. Or maybe I'm pushing you too hard, considering what you've been through.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine, let's just beat Sabine, once and for all," Starshine said with determination.

Sabine and I got in position for the third and final round.

"This is the third round, the finale. Let's give the crowd a good show, riders," Mr. Herman said. When the whistle blew Starshine took of before Kaahn had a chance to move, but by the time I finished the first lap Sabine and Kaahn were close behind Starshine and I.

_Can you go any faster, or am I pushing you too hard?_ I mentally asked Starshine.

"Don't worry, Lisa. We'll win," he assured me.

As the second lap passed and we entered the final lap Starshine and I only fell farther and farther behind Sabine and Kaahn. As we neared the finish line I still had faith in Starshine, he wouldn't let me down. I trusted him.

Suddenly Starshine sped up and passed Kaahn by a good four feet.

Mr. Herman blew the whistle.

"Lisa is the winner of this round, and the competition," he announced.

"You did it Starshine! We did it! We won!" I told him as I patted his mane. I looked over at Sabine. She had her mouth open in disbelief, but when she saw me staring at her she closed her mouth and glared at me.

"Hmph, you just got lucky today, but believe me-this is far from over," she said with her head held high. She turned Kaahn around and they rode off.

The gate that lead into the course opened and Zach, Anne, Jeff, Josh and Mr. Herman all ran up to Starshine and I. I dismounted him and turned to face them.

"Congratulations, Lisa. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're happy you decided to come to the stables."

"Thanks."

"You did great. It's really funny because this whole thing with Starshine has brought us all-Zach, Jeff, you and me-together," Anne said with a smile.

Zach ran up to me and gave me a hug. When we pulled apart he commented, "Congratulations on winning. You must be ready to up and leave the next ship leaving Jorvik with all the strange things that have been happening to you."

"A lot of weird things have been happening to me," I agreed. "But even though I've only been here a couple days, I feel like I belong here, like I've lived here for my whole life. I'm really starting to like Jorvik, and I'm not leaving anytime soon."

Zach smiled. "Well I'm glad to hear that."

He leaned in and for a minute I though he was about to kiss me, but suddenly Jeff pulled me away.

"Congrats, Lisa. I knew you would beat her," he said. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that he had pulled me away. I'm really starting to like Zach. I have to admit, he's a cutie. There's just something about the gleam in his eyes, and the way his light brown hair falls in his eyes, and he was really smart too.

"Thanks," I said with a forced smile. I looked over at Starshine and I could tell he was smiling.

_Great job, Starshine. I still have some more questions though, about all of this,_ I mentally told him.

"Yeah, me too, and I'm sure we'll find out very soon what all of this means."

* * *

_"A strong bond has been tied between a girl and a very special horse, but also between four teens, a bond that will grow stronger and be tested in the darker times ahead. A dark and sinister force is lurking in Jorvik and time will show that the friendships formed will be the first, last and only line of defense in the battle to come."_


End file.
